Convertible carriage



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CONVERTIBLE CARRIAGE Filed June 29, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 l@ .i a )m o Z f, 9 2

Vl Du Patented Dec. 4, 1934 l CONVERTIBLE CARRIAGE Carroll O. Smith and Donald I. Sweany,

Baltimore, Md.

Application June 29, 1933, Serial No. 678,264

` s claims. (c1. i6-4s) This invention relates to the patent-class 0f two .seat-plates or bases and two seats.; the latter toys, sub-class of building blocks; in another being teteatete as shown in full lines, 'and visavis sense, it relates to the patentclass of land veas shown in broken lines; one of the side-Walls hieleS Or railway rolling stock, being intended being bolted flat on the floor, and against .the

,5 and constructed to carry one or more children @appl-etes, fet keeping them from turning on 60 along va road or rail-track; and in a third sense, theii` pivots; the other three Walls being diseon it relates to educational devices, as it requires and nected and inverted in positions opposite -to develops initiative and insight in the child or Where they are hgrmeuyseated and Secured, Children Who assemble the parts in different WENS Fig. 'l is an exploded view, viz., an end view in 1,0 so `as tol produce different forms of vehicles and which the parte are seen disconnected or dis.. 65

t0 arrange the parte mOSt COmDaCtly fOr Storage placed, but in such .definite relation to l,one .an- Or Shipment in knock-down condition. 1 other that the normal assembled relation is read- Therefore, this invention is entitled Convertible ily understandable by the observers.

Carriage, and it should be llnderStOOd thatft .is Fig. y8 is a left-,side view of one of the two four- ,1115 a carriage in the broadest sense, for though the Wheel Vehicles 0ieeri-iages that een Vhe evglved 70` wheels here shown are angedgfor use on a railfrom the parte Shown ih Fig, 1

track, other forms oi wheels may be used,` or this Referring to Athese drawings by reference charforrn may be supplemented by tires that make acters and lead-lines which are respectively apthem :into a different form. MOreOVer, Sled-rllrlplied to similar parts in the several views, lthe 20 ners may be used in lieu of or interchangeable invention isdescribed in detail as follows: 75

with the wheels, so hereinafter, the term travel- A hedp1ete or 'floor 10 may be of the plural-l ing units iS'emPloyed to broadly refer t0 any llnd piece construction, as shown, or maybe of any of wheels or runners that carry the axles or Supeppi-opi-iate Construction 0i- ,Of :any appropriate pertng beams'that SUPDOrt the other parts of the material; but in the .form shown, the margins .L25 device. and middle are built up with reenforcing strips, 80

The mairl Objects 0f the nvehtlohyftheleffl'e While the front and `rear halves are hollowed at are t0 DrOVde entertainment, mental eXeTClSe the underside and provide separate seats for two physical exercise. and healthful development, by trucbbediee ,or Superposed pillows "11 and l2 means of a set of building units that are capable Secumble to axles for beams 13' Which are hor- .330' 0f being Sblllt litO different fOrmS 0f Vehicles that mally journalled in wheels 14 or fitted in some 35 are'use'ful'to Carry DerSOrlS and Other thngS- other kind of traveling unit such as previously Other objects and impertant feeturee are mentioned, and secured by Cotter-pins or other DOiIlted vClit 01 implied irl the follOWmg detallsf 0f removable devices `that enable the wheels to be description, in C0i1r1eet01l With the acompanymg removed, replaced, interchanged, or substituted,

.35' drawings in WhCll at will of the users. 90

.45 securing nuts.

Fg- 1 is 9# perspective ,View Showing the builfling 'Ihe front and'rear parts of the Hoor are aperunits united to form a visavis-passenger-carriage. tured to provide pvot bearings 15 which may Fig 2 1.5 'a perspectlve Vlew of the bedpmte 0T also be termed truck-pivot-bearings, inasmuch as floor having an endwall and a s1de-wall secured they accommodate pms or pivots 16 which also '410 thereon an@ another end'wau andtde-Wau de' extend 'thru corresponding pivot-bearings 17 and 95 tached and inverted, the normal positions of these 18 of the pillows 11 and 12, respectively 'aswell walls being 'indicated by broken lines on the maras through the Centers of Seat bases or plates .19

gin of the floor, the wall-securing bolts, except Wh. h h t t the 1c ave pivo -bearings 20 there hrough. In the'onem usebemg sho on the goor Wlth lr F1g. 1, one of the pivots 16 is omitted to show Fig..3 is a reduced size view showing the underwe plO-ll befl'rmg v205 but lll Flg' 3, 011eef the 100 side of the vehicle having the parts assembled to plvots 1S omltted because 1t 1s Pt Itedidmlhe form Ta six-wheel vehicle instead of the `-vvheel frlonll truck because the latter 1S llgldly llnlted vehicle shown in Fig. 1. Wlth the floor by means of primary bo1ts 21 5.0 Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing `two blocks alldWlhg-huts 22, tWO` 0f these` hOltS eXtendlng 1,05

or pillows with the pivot therefor andthe pivotal tlllOtlgh` 'aimed primary bOlt-hOleS 23l of the adjuncts. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the Wheels SuperDOSed members 12, 11, 10 and 19 on the and supporting beam or axle that is omitted from front beam 13, and 'thru holes '23 `of `the latter; thesix-wheel vehicle shown in Fig. 3. and two other primary bolts resting idly in 'the 55 `6 is a top plan View of the'floon four WallS, rear pair of primary bolt-holes Ifor convenience 110 in keeping all parts intact as nearly as is eX- pedient.

In connection with the last part of the preceding paragraph, it should now be understood that this invention includes eight primary bolts, so called to distinguish them from eight secondary bolts and four tertiary bolts; and while these designations are somewhat arbitrary, they are used with relation to the most expedient succession of steps in buliding up the vehicle; for instance, the trucks may be considered the base or foundation, and should be built up rst, using the primary bolts in the primary bolt-holes to secure the pillows 11 ,and 12 to one another, and to the parts superposedthereon when the truck or trucks is or are not pivoted; next, the oor being pivoted on the trucks, and the seatbases 19 on the floor (as in Fig. 1), accompanied by the prostrate walls 24 and 25, which latter have dowel-pins 26 tted in dowel-sockets 27 of the respective seat-bases, the secondary bolts or fasteners 28 are then brought into service by fitting them in secondary bolt-holes 29 that extend through the parts 10 and 25 and through the respective feet of seat-legs 30 and 31 and these bolts are each provided with a wing-nut to combine therewith for securing theseparts together. As the third step, building upward, the tertiary bolts 32 are seated in` tertiary bolt-'holes 33, as in Fig. l, or in tertiary bolt-holes 33a of the floor 10 and walls 24 and 25 when the wall is erect as in theupper-left of Fig. 2.

The purpose of the erect walls is to combine with the floor 10 in forming a vehicle-bed or box in which sand or other materials may be held and carried so as to provide exercise and entertainment for children, in the loading, un-v loading and hauling, and to provide a depth of sand in which small children'can play in the many ways so much enjoyed by them. The :puri pose of the prostrate walls being secured to the iloor, as inFig. 1, is to combine with the seatbases 19 in reinforcing the floor for hauling heavy rocks, etc., with `which to build the` numerous things that only boys can think of; also to hold the seat-bases against turning from their different adjusted positions, as indicatedv in Fig. 6;

and also to provide raised handles asprovided by the prostrate end-walls 24, in Fig. 1, so the boys or children can pull or push the respective cars or carriages thereby when coupling two of such cars to one another by means of the coupling link 34 and pins 35, which latter are permanently and flexibly secured to the center of the link by means of a chain or chains 36. Both ends of the floor are slotted'at 37 to receive the links 34, and apertured at 33 to receive the coupling-pins 35. f y

Each seat which includes the front legs 30 and rear legs 31, also includes a seat-plate 39, arm-rests 40, back-rest 41 and securing clamps 42, each of the latter comprising a bolt and a wing-nut in the present drawings. However,

other forms of nuts may be used, instead of.

wing-nuts, especially where it is wished that the children shall learn how to use wrenches and other tools; and this applies to the nuts on all bolts mentioned in this device.

The washers 43 and 44 (Fig. 4) are removable from the truck-pivot 16, and the latter one of these washers is normally disposed between the floor and upper pillow 11 (Fig. 7), while the washer 43 is normally disposed between the lower pillow and the cotter-pin 45. This cotter pin fits interchangeably in tWO diametlal bores 1:6

in the lower end of the pivot 16; the lower one being for use when the pivot extends through the seat-base in addition to the floor and pillows; and the upper one being used when the seat-bases are omitted from the assembly, as obviously they may be when the children decide to have only a plain iiat car, in which case, the walls and seats may also be left off and used separately; or either the walls or the seats may be used on the floor independently of and exclusively of one another.

kIt is noted that the rear legs 31 are vertical, and the front legs 30 are oblique, in consequence of their respective angles being different, and this requires the mental act of selecting certain parts for certain places; and, on the other hand, it enables the builders to evolve different designs, by reversal rof the front and rear legs, by having all legs vertical on one bench, and all legs oblique on another bench, in which latter cases the bolts would be omitted in the feet of the rear legs.

Now considering Figs. 3 and 4, it is evident that the lower pillows, one or both, may be substituted by additional washers between the upper pillows and the floor, or by using such washers between the beams 13 and the adjacent pillows as indicated at 44a in Fig. 3. Moreover, one of the rear beams 13 and its wheels 14 may be omitted, and the remaining beam and its wheels positioned and secured the same as the front beam and wheels; thus is obtained a two-axle four-wheel carriage or vehicle, leaving two beams or axles (with their wheels) free for use with the two free pillows for building up an additional vehicle, for instance, one similar to that shown in Fig. 8 Wherein'it is obvious that either one or two of the pillows may be used. Moreover, the major assemblage of Fig. 1 can be transformed so as to produce two vehicles' such as shown in Fig. 8, leaving the ilo'or 10 and Walls 24 and 25 free to be made into a third amusement device such as a sand-box or a table, the latter by securing the walls together and then placing the iioor thereon.

Furthermore, chairs or benches are provided for the table, by removing them from their bases (Fig. 8), and this leaves two coaster-cars comprising the two complete trucks and the plates or chair-bases 19 pivoted thereon so that two children can coast on an inclined track, sitting side by side; or the plates 19 may be turned longitudinally with respect to the line of travel, so the children (sitting single or in tandem) may stretch their legs out on the plate 19 while holding to the edges of the plate with their hands. When the benches or passenger-seats are removed from the plates 19, this leaves bolts 28 free to be used for other purposes, for instance substituting two of the longer bolts 32 which may now be used as pivots for the parts 11 and 19 in Fig. 8, while others may be used in the back-rests or bars 4l removed from the benches or seats and used to couple the' trucks to one another so as to combine v ..such ias -s'hown in Fig. rl, .it 'being borne `in 'mind `.that rprevi'ous to 'so rebuilding, `.the .plate 1.0 .and bench-armsor passenger-seat-arms 40 iconstitut- .ed the ftable; and Lthat the parts l1, 12, 13, .1.4, 30,31, 39 :and -4'2 constitute the'elements ofthe two .coaster-cars ldescribed Lin the `first part of 4the next preceding paragraph.

The .players oribuilders (children) may find 'it thrilling to build a high platform carriage on which .they may -sit `andlet their iieet hang down, and this may be .done'by lremoving the varms and Abacks from these rdevices, shown `in Fig. 8, and replacing them with .the floor l0, viz., .securing the Tfrontend of the table 'or floor to one `base .19., .andthe rear .end to .the other base 19, by meansof "thebolts 142 which maybe somewhat `.longerand -have long threaded ends; or 'the bases may also 'be-removed, `so vthat the table or floor l0 :rests 'on the legs 30 Land 3l in such position that the bolts 42 pass therethrough and thence through the bolt-holes29 of the floor or tabletcp y1'0. As another .interchange that results in a different type of car and a different type of table, the legs 30 and 31 may be transferred from the car of Fig. 8 to the floor or table-top and secured under the latter, by bolts through the holes 29; then the seat-arms 40 may be secured. on the base or plate 19 in lieu of the legs 30 and 31. When the parts 10, 30 and 31 are thus used in forming a table, enough parts 11, 13, 14, 19, 28, 32, 40, 41 and 42 are free for building two separate vehicles such as described in the preceding sentence, then the walls or beams 25 may be connected to the seat-arms (while the latter are secured on the load-carrying plates 19, as just previously described), by placing the uprights of the seat-arms in the'bifurcated ends of the beams 25 and passing the bolts 32 through the bolt-holes 33a, thereby transforming the two minor or four wheel vehicles into a long major or eight-wheel vehicle on which poles, or other long objects can be hauled while passengers may occupy the seats provided by the load-carrying plates or bases 19 and arms or standards 40.

The foregoing explanations are not intended to be exhaustive of the various devices that can be built from this set of building units, nor is it intended to limit this invention to the precise kind, style or number of building units here shown, for the invention is susceptible of numerous changes within the scope of the inventive ideas as implied and claimed.

Our claims are as follows:

l. The combination in a knock-down toy, of a set of building units including a floor, traveling units under the floor and provided withmeans removably connecting them to the floor in proper relation for carrying the floor, and walls provided with means removably securing them to the marginal edges of the floor in erect position, the second said means including bolts that extend through bolt-holes in the walls and in the floor, said walls having bolt-holes at right angles to the first said bolt-holes, said bolts being removable from the first said bolt-holes and adapted to be passed through the second said bolt-holes and through the loor for securing the walls in prostrate position on the floor, for purposes specied.

2. The combination in, a knock-down toy vehicle, of a set of toy building units including a floor, traveling units provided with -means removably connecting them to the under side of the floor in proper relation for carrying the floor, walls provided with means to removably secure them on the oor in erect position and in .prostrate .position alternately, a passenger seat,

fasteners to removably secure .the 'passenger `seat-on fsaid lwallswhenjthe -`walls #are in prostrate position, :and 5.a seat-base provided .with meansfto .removably secure it on lsaid iloor .and

:between said walls, thesaid passengerseat being removably .attachable to said seat-base .by means .of said fasteners, .the latter being .effective for .holding the .passenger seatin position between :said walls when the walls are erect.

` '3. The combination in a knock-down toy vehicle, of .a'set of toy 'building units including -a Ifloor, V`.traveling 'units .provided lwith means vremovably connecting .them to the floor in proper relation 'for .carrying :said floor, side-walls and yend-.walls seatable on -saidfloor in lerect position :and prostrate `alternatively.and `being provided with bolt-holes in their ends, bolts to litinsaid bolt-holes .and to .removably engage with said vfloor `for detacha'bly securing thc ywalls to .one another .and .to the said iloor in their -erect position, said Abolts constituting means v-to secure said `walls to.:said `liloor .in prostrate position, .a passonger seat, a base-plate pivotally and removably mounted on said floor and provided with means to removably secure said seat thereon, said side-walls constituting means to engage said seat-base and prevent it from turning on its pivot when the walls are secured to said floor in their prostrate position, said walls and base being vertically movable with respect to one another to disengage them and permit the seatbase to be turned on its pivot, for the purpose specied.

4. The combination in a toy vehicle, of a set of toy building units comprising a passenger seat having legs, a plate constituting a seat-base and having a central pivot-bearing, means to secure the passenger seat to the seat-base, a pillow having a pivot-bearing, a pivot in the pivot-bearings of said seat-base and said pillow to permit the l seat-base to be turned on the pillow, traveling openings therethrough in opposite end portions,

each set of said openings including a pivotbearing equally spaced from the lateral edges of the floor, and each set also including two primary bolt-holes; two pillows on which said floor is removably seated each of said pillows having two rows of bolt-holes substantially parallel with the lateral edges, and each pillow also having a central pivot-bearing alined with two of these bolt-holes; a pivot removably extending thru one of the pivot-bearings of. said floor and thru the pivot-bearing of one of said pillows while the latter is under the floor to pivotally support one end of the iioor; four axles each having wheels journalled thereon and having bolt-holes therein located for registration with 'the bolt-holes oi said pillows and of said seat; two `of said axles being under the pivoted pillow y and at opposite sides of said pivot; a set of four bolts extending through registering bolt-holes of the said pivoted pillow and the said two axles and being provided with nuts to hold these axles in place; a pair of bolts that extend respectively thru registering bolt-holes of a third one of said axles and of the second pillow and of said floor and are provided with nuts to hold these units in rigid relation with one another and in such roe relation that the third axle crosses the center of the second pillow.

6. The combination in a knock-down toy vehicle, of a 'set of toy building units including a oor, two trucks under and connected to the iioor for supporting the latter, seat-bases on the floor, seats having separable arms and legs and provided with means to secure the legs to the seat-bases, said floor and trucks and seat-bases and seats being separable from one another, means being provided to secure the seat bases respectively on said trucks when the latter are separated from the said floor and thereby disconnected from one another so that the seats on the respective seat-bases separately combine with the respective trucks to form separate passenger vehicles from parts of said knock-down vehicle.

'7. A composite toy vehicle produced by combining a table-top or plate and table-legs of a knock-down table with-trucks and passengerseats of two simple or minor vehicles, the combination being as follows-said table-top being secured in horizontal position in said trucks and thereby converted into a iioor of the composite toy vehicle, said passenger seats being secured on said floor in proper upright positions to receive passengers thereon, and the said table-legs being secured respectively on the ends of said passenger-seats in proper positions for converting them into arms or arm-rests of the respective passenger-seats.

8. A composite toy vehicle produced by combining load-carrying plates and standards and traveling units of two simple or minor knock` down toy vehicles which include means to connect and secure the said plates to the traveling units, with beams each having bifurcated ends provided with bolt-holes through their furcations, and with bolts in said bolt-holes While parts of said standards are seated in said furcations and secured therein by said bolts, all substantially as specified. f

CARROLL O. SMITH. DONALD I` SWEANY` 

